


It's Still Family

by kanakan



Category: Uta no Prince-sama
Genre: Family, Other, Slice of Life, Some Fluff, Some angst, just a mix, just some family stuff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-13
Updated: 2017-05-22
Packaged: 2018-10-18 07:30:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10612155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kanakan/pseuds/kanakan
Summary: An AU with QUARTET NIGHT ten years younger than they are in canon. Based on several different artworks I've seen on pixiv. Chapters are not in chronological order.





	1. Ran Causes Some Trouble

“KOTOBUKI!”

Somebody pounded loudly at the door. Reiji winced.

“Coming!” he called. Quickly placing the last noodle on the lasagna, he wiped his hands on his apron and headed towards the door. He opened it, revealing a very irate woman firmly gripping the wrist of a preteen, silver-haired boy.

“I caught this troublemaker in my planters again,” the woman seethed. “I believe I have asked you before to keep a closer eye on your charges, have I not?”

“Sorry, Izumi-san,” Reiji apologized, ducking his head quickly. “I’ll try again to get it into Ranmaru’s head that he can’t do that.” Izumi huffed.

“See that you do.” She released Ranmaru’s wrist and stormed off, muttering darkly about “children these days.” Reiji closed the door and turned towards Ranmaru, a stern look in his eyes. Two mismatched eyes stared defiantly back at him.

“We’ve talked about this, RanRan,” the brunette gently scolded. “You know better than to do things like that.”

“It’s her fault!” Ranmaru snapped back. “I wouldn’t be in her dumb plants if that idiot Kokei hadn’t been throwing rocks at the cats!” Reiji blinked, then shook his head.

“How is it her fault that Kokei did that?” he asked in disbelief. Ranmaru tried to stomp off towards the bedroom, but Reiji blocked him. “Hey, I asked you a question. How is her fault?”

“She was right there, but she didn’t stop him! And when I told him to stop, she yelled at me for it!”

“And does that make it right for you to mess up her planters?”

“Yes. It makes me feel better.”

Reiji sighed, then went back to the kitchen.

“It doesn’t make it right,” he said, opening the oven and putting the lasagna in. “You can’t seem to figure that out no matter how many times I tell you.” Ranmaru huffed and picked up a game controller, flopping back on the couch. “So no video games for a week.”

“WHAT?!” Ran screeched, standing up quickly.

“You heard me,” Reiji replied, winding up a cooking timer. “I’ve let you off easy before, but not now.” Ranmaru huffed and stomped off down the hall towards the bedroom. Reiji sighed again, then went to the table and opened up his math textbook.

“If side A is two times longer than side B, then…” He muttered to himself. It was silent except for the ticking of the clock and the scratching of his pencil. Yawning, he rubbed at the dark circles under his eyes.

The sound of little pattering feet came from the hallway. Reiji glanced up to see a small, cyan-haired boy clutching a stuffed chick. The brunette smiled and put down his pencil.

“Hey, AiAi,” he said softly. Ai silently made his way over to Reiji, clambering up onto his lap. “Did RanRan wake you up?”

“No, I was waking up already,” the small boy murmured, nuzzling his face into Reiji’s chest and holding onto his plush tighter. “Dinner is in thirty minutes.”

“It will be a bit later than that,” Reiji replied, gently rocking Ai. The cyanette looked up at him and frowned.

“Dinner is in thirty minutes,” he repeated. His face started to screw up, and tears started to fall. “It’s always at seven-thirty. Always.”

“I know, I know,” Reiji murmured. “Things got a bit off-schedule. I’m sorry. It won’t be that much later.” Ai shook his head, his small body starting to shake. “It will be okay. I’ll read you an extra story tonight, okay?”

“That won’t fix it,” Ai pouted. “Then bedtime is later, and then I’ll wake up later, and then tomorrow is messed up too.”

“I’m sorry,” Reiji apologized again. “I’ll try harder tomorrow, okay?” Ai hesitated, then nodded. He slid off the older boy’s lap and went to turn on the TV. Reiji turned back to his homework.

“Now, where was I…”

 

BRING! BRING! BRING!

Reiji jumped slightly. He stretched, closed his textbook, got up, and headed towards the kitchen. Opening the oven, he glanced at the lasagna. The cheese at the top of the noodles was bubbling vigorously. Reiji put an oven mitt over his hand and carefully took the dish out. Setting it on the stove to let it cool, he headed back towards the table.

“THAT’S MINE!”

Reiji groaned and headed towards the bedroom.

“GIVE IT BACK!”

“IT’S MINE, YOU TOOK IT!”

“I DID NOT!”

The fighting got louder as Reiji got closer. He opened the door.

Ranmaru and Camus were fighting over… something. Whoever had taken what was not apparent, as the two of them were now embroiled in a furious brawl. They were rolling all over the room, both fighting for dominance over the other. Reiji watched, gritting his teeth and curling his fingers into fists.

“ENOUGH!” he bellowed. They froze, Ran still tugging Camus’s blonde hair and Camus about to sock Ran in the gut. Reiji glared at the two of them. “Can you two not be in the same room without trying to kill each other?” he said, his voice low. “Ranmaru, I expect better of you. You’re supposed to be the older one, aren’t you? And Camus, I’ve told you before to just let it go when Ranmaru riles you up.” Both boys got up, looking down.

Reiji huffed and turned away. “Apologize to each other. Then come to the kitchen for dinner. Got it?” Ranmaru and Camus nodded, still looking away. Reiji stalked back down the hall.

Ai was standing in the middle of the kitchen, wide-eyed and holding his plush by one arm. Reiji’s gaze softened. He kneeled down and hugged Ai. After a moment, the child hugged him back.

“It’s okay, it’s over now,” Reiji murmured, rubbing Ai’s back gently. He pulled away and smiled. “Want to help me with setting the table?” Ai nodded. Reiji stood up and headed toward the cupboard. He handed the plates one at a time to Ai, then picked up the lasagna and placed it on the table, with a folded towel under it. Ranmaru and Camus soon came into the kitchen. Each took their seats and quietly waited. After the table was set, Reiji helped Ai into his chair, then sat down. He began cutting the lasagna and doling out a portion to each person.

For a couple minutes, the only sound was of metal clicking against plastic. Finally, Reiji spoke.

“RanRan, Myu-chan, I’m sorry for yelling earlier,” he said gently. “Today’s been a bit… frustrating, and you two fighting again didn’t help much.”

“It’s fine,” Ranmaru muttered. Camus didn’t say anything, but continued picking at his food. The dinner continued in silence.

After everyone finished, Reiji and Ranmaru gathered up the plates. The cleaned them together - Reiji washing, Ranmaru drying - and put them away. Reiji then hustled the boys to bed.

After finishing Ai’s bedtime routine - bath, brushing teeth, pajamas, and two stories, in that exact order - Reiji tucked the sleepy tyke into bed. While Reiji was making sure the blankets were covering Piyo-chan as well at Ai’s request, Ranmaru called out to him.

“What’s up, RanRan?” Reiji softly asked, carefully making his way around discarded toys. He crouched next to Ranmaru’s bed.

“I’m sorry,” Ran whispered. “I know I can kinda be a jerk sometimes…” Reiji slightly smiled and ruffled the boy’s hair.

“It’s all good,” he assured. “Tomorrow’s a new day, and a new day means that we can try again. Get some sleep, okay?” Ran nodded and turned over, snuggling into his blankets.

“I’m sorry too,” Camus suddenly said. He looked up at Reiji. “It wasn’t my fault so I shouldn’t have to apologize, but I suppose it’s the proper thing to do.” Reiji shook his head, a small grin on his face.

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” he replied, heading towards the door. “Good night. Sleep well.”

“Good night.”

Reiji closed the door softly and walked back towards the kitchen. He rummaged through the drawers, taking out a small desk lamp. He flipped off the main light and turned on the lamp. Stifling a yawn, he started on his homework again. The apartment was finally completely silent, with only the sound of the clock to keep him company.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that was a start. This is my first longer fanfic, so leaving a comment about how I did would be very helpful. Thank you for reading, and I'll see you with the next chapter.


	2. Cats Are Not a Good Reason to Get Lost

“Eh? Where’s RanRan?”

Reiji looked over the living room. Camus was sitting on the couch, reading a book. Ai was methodically building a tower out of blocks, with Piyo-chan observing. Normally, Ranmaru would be playing Mario or something on the Wii, but he wasn’t there.

“I don’t know,” Camus replied, turning a page. “I don’t really care, either.” Reiji rolled his eyes and turned to Ai. The small child glanced up from his structure, then turned back.

“He went somewhere,” he said, carefully putting a block in place. “We came home, he put his backpack down, and then he went somewhere.”

“Did he say where he was going?”

“No.”

The brunette groaned. Ranmaru was supposed to be here while Reiji was at work. Not that he didn’t trust Camus and Ai alone - they could be surprisingly mature for their age - but just in case something happened. Working at a convenience store was stressful enough without being distracted by worrying about them.

“Alright, we’re going out to find him,” Reiji said, putting down his bag. “Come get your shoes on.” Ai nodded, picked up Piyo-chan, and walked over to his shoes. Camus, however, sighed in irritation and stayed where he was.

“Do we have to?” he said, not looking up from his book. “It’s been so much quieter without that fool around.”

“Yes. Now come get your shoes on, or I’ll do it for you. And if I do it for you, I’m going to tickle your feet as well.”

Camus glared at Reiji, then put his book down and stalked over to the door. He flopped down and put his shoes on. After helping Ai tie his laces, Reiji hustled the two boys out the door.

As soon as they were outside, Reiji realized he had a bit of a problem: he had no idea where to start. Ran tended to be a bit of a homebody; even on the rare occasions when he did go out, he wouldn’t go very far.

“Now, if I were RanRan, where would I go…” Reiji mused, folding his arms. After thinking for a moment, he headed downstairs to the first floor apartments, Ai and Camus trailing after him.

“103, 104, 105… ah, here we are.” Reiji stopped at 106. He knocked on the door and waited, anxiously tapping his foot. Soon, Izumi opened the door. She looked at Reiji, frowned, and went to shut the door

“Ah, Izumi-san,” Reiji said quickly, sticking his foot in the doorway. “I’m sorry for bothering you, but I was just wondering if you have seen Ranmaru around anywhere.”

“I haven’t seen that hooligan around anywhere,” Izumi sniffed. “Now leave. I am visiting with some acquaintances, and I do not wish for them to think that I willingly associate with riffraff like you.”

With that, she slammed the door, Reiji barely getting his foot out of the way in time. He stared at the door and sighed, scratching his head.

“Well, it was worth a try…” he muttered. “But now what?” He headed towards the end of the row of apartments. “I guess I just… look around?”

 

“Another dead end… Where on earth could he be?” Reiji said as he stopped at the corner.

“Can I go home now?” asked Camus, still grudgingly following him. “I want to get back to my book. This is a complete waste of my time. That fool got himself lost, he can find his way back. ”

“No, you need to stay with me. I don’t want another one of you to get lost.”

“Well, we’ve already lost Ai, so it’s a bit late for that.”

“WHAT?!” Reiji yelped. He looked around frantically, but Ai was nowhere to be seen. “When did that happen? HOW did that happen?!”

“You tell me,” Camus replied scathingly. “Aren’t YOU the one who’s supposed to watch us?”

“Now is not the time for being rude!” Reiji snapped back. “We need to be looking for them! Agh, what if something bad happened to them?! What if they got kidnapped? Ai’s cute enough that any kidnapper would snap him right up! What was he wearing last? Do we go to the police for this? But then they’ll be taken away because I was a terrible older brother, and I lost my younger brothers, and…”

As Reiji continued in this hysterical state, Camus watched him, silently wondering why on earth this idiotic peasant was in charge.

 

Reiji quickly strode down the street, dragging Camus along with him. Although he had calmed down from his earlier panic, his mind was still clouded with worry. _What if I can’t find them? What will happen to them? Are they hurt? What do I do?_ As he wrestled with these thoughts, he heard a familiar voice from an alleyway.

“...careful how you hold them, they’re kind of skittish…”

Reiji whipped around and sprinted towards the voice. At the end of the alley were Ranmaru and Ai, along with several stray cats. The cats looked up and bolted at Reiji’s sudden arrival.

“Bye-bye, kitties,” Ai said, waving farewell. Ranmaru glared at Reiji.

“What are you doing here?” he complained. “You scared all the cats away.”

“What am I doing here?” Reiji asked incredulously. “What are you doing here? I’ve been worried sick!”

“I saw these cats on the way to school this morning, so I came back to see if they were still here.”

“But why didn’t you tell anybody where you were going?”

Ranmaru looked down.

“I guess… I’m not used to people actually caring where I was,” he said slowly, picking at his fingers. “I figured it wouldn’t really matter to you if I was gone for a while.” Reiji’s face fell. He quietly walked over and sat next to Ranmaru, putting his arm around the younger boy. Ranmaru stiffened, but didn’t move away.

“I know it’s been hard for you,” he said, trying to keep his voice steady, “but you don’t have to be alone, okay? You have a family now.” Ran nodded, staying still.

Ai clambered onto Reiji’s lap. Reiji looked down and smiled.

“And how about you, AiAi?” he asked, his voice lighter. “Why did you run off?”

“I saw Ranmaru,” Ai replied. “I came over to ask what he was doing, and I looked back, and you were gone.”

“I see, I see. Well, I’m sorry I lost you there. Did you have fun playing with the kitties?”

“Uh-huh.” Ai smiled slightly. “They were scared for a bit, but they’re really nice. I think they’re a lot like Ranmaru.”

“Oh~?” Reiji glanced over to Ranmaru with a smirk. “I’d say you’re right. RanRan is our little stray cat, isn’t he?”

“I am not,” Ran insisted. A light flush was forming on his face.

“Aw, why so prickly? You’re such an emotional cactus, RanRan.”

“I AM NOT.”

“Come on now, no need to be so shy.”

“SHUT UP.”

Camus watched as the two went back and forth, sighing and shaking his head in irritation. Such peasants.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again. Thank you for reading this chapter, I hope you enjoyed it :) If there's anything you want to say - something you enjoyed, something I could do better, whatever else - please leave a comment about it, I'd love to hear it.  
> Also, if you caught the reference to a particular video game, kudos to you :3c (hint: it's not the Mario thing in the beginning. it's more subtle than that ;) )


	3. A Lemonade Stand

“Ranmaru, who was it that was talking to Reiji?”

Ran paused his game and looked at his little brother. Ai was sitting next to him, resting his head on Piyo-chan.

“The landlord, I think,” he replied.

“What’s a landlord?”

“He’s the guy who owns the building. He takes care of all the stuff that gets messed up, too, like when that skunk got in the air ducts.”

“Oh.”

Ranmaru unpaused the game and continued playing. Just as he was about to grab a star, Ai spoke again.

“Why did Reiji look sad when the landlord left?”

Ranmaru thought for a moment and shrugged.

“Dunno. I didn’t hear what they were talking about.”

“They were talking about the rent,” Camus said from across the room. He glanced up from his book. “Apparently Reiji was late paying it. Kagawa was telling him to get it in soon.”

“What happens if Reiji doesn’t pay it?” Ai asked.

“Then we have to leave.”

Ai blinked. Tears started to well up in his eyes.

“Then we won’t have a home anymore?” he said with quivering voice. “Where will we go?”

“Hey, it’ll be okay,” Ran comforted, ruffling Ai’s hair. “Reiji won’t let that happen.”

“But he’s already gone so long at work. How would he be able to work more?”

Ranmaru exhaled slowly and sank back into the couch.

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I don’t think he could get more hours.” _And he probably shouldn’t,_ he thought to himself. _He’s probably pushing himself too hard to begin with._

“Then what can we do?” Ai murmured, leaning against Ranmaru. “Can we do anything to help him?” Ran put an arm around him, looking down at his lap.

“Not that I can think of,” he finally replied. “Being a kid makes kinda makes it harder to get money.”

“Koeki said that he got some money.” Camus put down his book. “Where did he get it from?”

“Uhhh… I think he sold some cookies his mom made,” Ran said, looking at Camus quizzically. “What does that jerk have to do with this?”

“Couldn’t we do something similar?”

Ai looked from Camus to Ranmaru hopefully. Ran contemplated the suggestion.

“That’s actually a pretty good idea,” he mused. “I don’t think we have stuff for cookies, though. But we do have all that lemonade mix. Why DO we have all of that, anyways?”

“I think Reiji got it on sale.” Camus rolled his eyes. “But at least it’s coming in handy now.”

“So we can help?” Ai asked excitedly. Ran smiled down at him.

“Yeah, we can help,” he responded. “But let’s keep this a secret from Reiji, okay? So we can surprise him.” Ai nodded and smiled brightly back.

 

“Okay, so we’ve got everything set up then,” Camus said, stepping back to look at the small lemonade stand. A cardboard box served as the table. Ranmaru had written,

“Lemonade: 100 yen” on the front, with a small Piyo-chan scribbled by Ai in the corner. The lemonade was in its pitcher and a stack of disposable cups next to it. A jar for the money sat on the opposite side of the stand from the lemonade.

“Now I guess we just wait,” Ranmaru said. He plopped down in one of the chairs they had dragged down from the kitchen.

At first, business was slow; it was still fairly early in the morning. As the hours passed, people started to trickle by, and the jar began to fill up with coins and bills. Ai peered at the jar, bouncing excitedly on his toes.

“How much is in there?” he asked, eyes shining brightly.

“I don’t know,” Camus replied as he poured a cup of lemonade. He gave it to the customer and dropped a coin into the jar with a plink. “We’ll have to count it up later.”

“But it’s a lot, right?”

“Yeah,” Ran said. He carefully placed a full pitcher of lemonade next to a half-empty one. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he peered up at the sun. It was almost directly above them, the heat pounding down harshly. “We might have to close down soon, it’s getting kinda hot. Also we’re almost out of the lemonade mix.”

Ai nodded. “Okay. Can we watch Pokémon when we’re done?”

“Sure.”

“Well, what do we have here?”

Ranmaru froze at the voice. He gritted his teeth as he slowly turned to face the speaker.

Koeki was smirking at him. Two of his friends stood on either side of him, almost like bodyguards. His dark hair was arranged on either side of a ruler-straight part, perfectly framing his face. His clothes looked new and well-kept, unlike the disheveled hand-me-down t-shirt and shorts bought from a discount store that Ran was wearing.

“It’s none of your business, Koeki,” Ran growled, curling his hands into fists. “Now scram. You’re going to scare off customers.”

“Oh, I think you do a pretty good job of that already.” Koeki’s smirk grew wider. “I’m surprised you were even able to get that much.” Ranmaru growled again, tensing up. Camus observed the situation carefully. Ai nervously looked back and forth between Ran and Koeki, clinging at the hem of his oversized t-shirt.

“I told you to go away.” Ran moved forward, directly pressing his forehead against Koeki’s. Koeki looked him steadily in the eye, his confident expression unchanging. “So. Scram.”

“Oh, I don’t think so,” Koeki responded lightly. He moved around Ran and strode over to the money jar. He picked it up and examined it. Camus’s gaze turned icey, staring coldly at the smug boy. “I believe that you’re trespassing, so I’ll need to take a fee.”

“Kagawa-san said that we could be here,” Ai said quietly. He froze when Koeki turned to look at him. He gulped and continued. “You’re not the boss of here. Kagawa-san is.” Koeki glared at the small boy. He placed the jar down and walked over to Ai.

“Are you telling me what to do?” he hissed, towering over Ai. The cyanette glanced over to his older brothers fearfully. Both of them were now barely restraining themselves; Ran lowered into a fighting stance, while Camus stood up and tightly gripped the edge of the box, leaving deep finger marks in the cardboard. “I don’t appreciate that.” Koeki’s smirk returned, but it didn’t reach his eyes. He walked back over to the lemonade stand. “But you know what? I’ll let you keep your money.” He picked up a pitcher of lemonade and turned back towards Ai. “I’ll still require some payment, though.”

With that he dumped the whole pitcher of lemonade over Ai’s head. The lemonade spilled all over Ai, soaking into his hair and clothes. He stood frozen in shock for a moment, not making a sound. Soon, though, he began to whine as tears rolled down his cheeks. Those whines quickly turned into wails. He rubbed at his eyes, sobbing harder when the acidic lemon juice on his hands got into his eyes.

With a yell, Ran launched himself at Koeki, while Camus vaulted over the box to do the same. Koeki’s lackeys jumped in. It swiftly became a full-blown brawl. Biting, scratching, kicking - all done with reckless abandon, with no one paying attention to who received what.

“HEY!”

The landlord ran up. He pulled the boys apart from each other, carefully dodging stray punches. He glared at all five of the boys.

“There will be no fights on my property,” he reprimanded, folding his arms. “Now, what happened.”

“Koeki came over-”

“We were just walking-”

“He tried to take-”

“-didn’t do anything-”

“-minding our own business-”

“-you liar, we-”

“-all their fault-”

“Okay, okay, that’s enough.” Kagawa stopped them, shaking his head. “I can see that I’m not going to get a clear story from any of you.” He turned to Ai. The child was still sniffling and shivering; the lemonade had started to form a puddle around his feet and soak into his shoes as well. “Ai, what happened?”

“Ranmaru and Camus and me (hic!) were s-selling our lemonade (hic!), when Koeki and them came up, and K-koeki (hic!) came up, and said w-w-we had to give him our money (hic!) because we were t-trespassing. I said n-no, ‘cause you said (hic!) you said we could be here, and Koeki dumped o-our l-lemonade all over my heeeaaad,” Ai bawled. His cries were interrupted every few seconds with hiccups.

“I see,” Kagawa replied gently. He softly patted Ai’s head and turned back towards the group of troublemakers. He frowned sternly at each of them in turn; not one of them met his eyes.

“Koeki, Jun, Giichi, I’m going to have to tell your parents about this,” he said. “Ranmaru, Camus, I know you were trying to protect Ai, but I’m still going to have to tell Reiji. It will be his choice whether or not to tell your parents about what happened.” He turned back towards the building. “Now come along.” The boys slowly trailed behind the landlord. Camus turned back momentarily to grab the money jar, then fell back in with the group. Ai’s shoes made a squelching sound with every step.  
Kagawa dropped Ranmaru, Camus, and Ai off at the office before taking the other three to their apartments. The small room was silent except for the sound of Ai sniffling.

“Did you see the look on Koeki’s face?” Camus spoke up. “He was pretty mad. Honestly, he looked ridiculous like that.”

“Yeah,” Ran responded. “Especially with those black eyes. I gave him one of those for sure.”

“I gave him the other one.”

“Nice.”

The room fell quiet again.

Kagawa came back after a few minutes. He glanced at the clock and sat down behind his desk.

“You three will stay here until Reiji comes, alright?” he said. The boys nodded. “It’s about one now, so it will be a couple hours.” He turned to the bulky computer on his desk and started working.

The minutes ticked by. Ai’s clothes slowly dried off, the sugar residue left behind stiffening the fabric. Slowly, each of them nodded off - Ran resting his head on his hand, Ai cuddling with Ran over the armrest, and Camus curled over the jar.

Kagawa stood up, startling the boys out of their slumber. They looked out the window. Reiji was coming up the sidewalk. Kagawa went out to talk to him. They talked for a minute, then came back into the office.

“Come on,” Reiji said wearily, gesturing for them to follow. Ai jumped out of his seat and took Reiji’s hand, Ranmaru and Camus following behind.

They made their way back to the apartment. When they got there, Reiji fiddled with his keys before finding the right one and unlocking the door. He let his younger brothers file in before entering and closing the door behind him. He turned to look over the boys. Ranmaru had three long, parallel scratches going down his face, while Camus was sporting a black eye; both had other miscellaneous scratches and bruises all over them. Ai was still fairly sticky; he stared back up at Reiji while sucking sugar off his fingers.

“Why…?” Reiji questioned, gesturing aimlessly.

“Didn’t Kagawa tell you what happened?” Ran replied.

“He only said that you two got in a fight because Koeki did something to Ai.”

“Well, Koeki came up, tried to take our money, got mad when Ai told him not to, and dumped lemonade all over Ai. That’s pretty much all that happened.”

“Lemonade…?” Reiji looked at them quizzically. “Why lemonade?” The three glanced at each other. Camus held up the jar.

“We were selling lemonade,” he said. “Koeki tried to take our jar.”

“Oh,” Reiji responded, “I see. Why were you selling lemonade? Is there some new game coming out?”

“Nope!” Ai exclaimed, taking his fingers out of his mouth. “We were helping!”

“Helping?”

“We overheard that you missed rent,” Camus explained. “We wanted to earn some money to help out.” He held out the jar to Reiji. The brunette carefully took it, staring at in disbelief. To the surprise of the disheveled boys, tears started to roll down his cheeks.

“Did… we do something wrong?” Ran quietly asked. Reiji shook his head and placed the jar on the floor beside him. He crouched down and enveloped all three children in a warm hug.

“Thank you,” he murmured. “Thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That one was a long one. Well, mostly compared to the previous chapters.  
> A slight bit of explanation - most people in the story do not know that Reiji is the sole guardian of the kids. Most think that he's just a babysitter or something. There are very, VERY few people in-universe who have an idea of the actual situation, and Reiji prefers to keep it that way.


	4. Camus's Origin

Camus stared at the cold, dead body in front of him. Moments before, that body had been trying to kill him. It _would_ have killed him, if it weren’t for the quick work of the guards. Quick work, however, equals messy work, which meant that Camus was now splattered with blood.

The blonde stood stock still as people rushed around him, shouting and moving things. What would happen now? Why were there people who wanted him dead so desperately?

A pair of guards came into the room. One was wearing a captain’s insignia on his shoulder; he was listening intently to his subordinate's report.

“...fifth attempt this month. Plans need to be moved ahead…”

Camus overheard their conversation. So that meant he was leaving already? Was he ready enough? He continued to stare at the body. It still held a razor sharp dagger in one hand. Poison residue faintly glimmered on the blade.

It didn’t matter if he was ready. He needed to leave.

He was eventually hustled into another room, away from the commotion. He sat quietly on a finely upholstered sofa, resisting the urge to swing his legs. After a short wait, a middle-aged man in a three-piece suit came into the room. He bowed slightly in respect.

“I apologize for the wait, Lord Camus,” he said. Even though he had barely just hit his later years, his dark blonde hair was already streaked with silver. “Our plans - such as they are - have been finalized. We are to leave immediately.”

“What about my things?” Camus questioned. “My books, my clothes…?”

“Already packed away, milord. Everything is set for our departure.” Camus hesitated slightly, then carefully stood up and strode towards the door.

“Very well then, Ulanov,” he said curtly. “Then let us be off.”

“As you wish, milord.”

 

“What are they like?”

“Milord?” Ulanov looked up from his papers at the young count.

“The people I’m staying with. What are they like?”

Camus was staring out the window of the airplane. They sat in the economy class of a public airplane. Rivals who might send assassins would expect a noble of Camus’s status to be in at least first class, if not take a private jet. It was better to keep them off the trail as much as possible.

“Not much, I’m afraid.” Ulanov shuffled through his notes. He pulled out two pages and looked them over. “The family name is Kotobuki. They have one… no, two children enrolled in school. Their place of residence is in a small apartment complex. The primary source of income is unknown, as are the personal names of the residents.”

“I see.” Camus glance back toward the butler. “Do they know that I am coming?”

“I’m afraid not, milord,” Ulanov sighed. “We have not had a chance to contact them. We were in the beginning of gathering information when the decision to advance plans was made. This is the family we were able to get the most information about.”

“Then how do we know if they will take me in?”

Ulanov smiled wanly.

“We do not.”

“What if they don’t?”

“Then you contact us, and we go on to the next family.”

Camus almost asked another question, but closed his mouth and looked back out the window. He didn’t want to know what would happen if nobody took him in. His imagination could come up with several unpleasant situations on its own.

The trip continued in silence. Eventually, Camus drowsed off, only waking up briefly when the plane landed for more fuel.

After several hours, they landed in Japan. Ulanov hustled Camus off the plane and led him to the baggage claim. After picking up two large black suitcases, they headed outside, where Ulanov hailed down a taxi. He gave the driver the address of their destination, then sat back in his seat to go through some paperwork.

A half hour passed by. Camus watched out the window, leaning against the frame of the door. The vibrations jostled him, making his teeth chatter. Eventually, they arrived at a small apartment complex. It was nothing fancy, although it wasn’t run down either. The front door for each apartment was on the outside of the building, with metal walkways connecting the doors on the upper floor. As Camus examined what would likely be his new home, the taxi driver helped Ulanov take the suitcases out of the back, then drove away.

Ulanov took a suitcase in each hand and went up the stairs. Camus followed behind him. Some doors had welcome mats in varying conditions of use. Others had flower pots near the door or hooked to the outside railing. He could hear the sounds of people talking and children laughing inside nearly all of them.

At room 204, Ulanov stopped. He knocked on the door and waited. Camus heard a song stop, before the sound of footsteps came closer to the door.

The door opened, revealing a brunette teenager. He was wearing an old t-shirt and sweats, with beat-up slippers on his feet. He tilted his head quizzically at the new arrivals.

“Can I help you?” he asked.

“This young man requires a place to stay,” Ulanov said briskly, gesturing towards Camus. “For reasons that cannot fully be disclosed due to matters of security, he cannot stay in his home country.”

“Uhh…” The teen blinked. “I… see…?” He looked from Camus to Ulanov. “So, as for why you’re here…?”

“I am asking you on behalf of a certain government to provide shelter for him for the time being. If you agree to this, you are not to register him in any school. He has his own textbooks that he can learn from by himself. For that matter, do not register him in any sort of organization or registry. There are certain people who must not know where he is.” Reiji opened his mouth to try to speak, but Ulanov cut him off. “You may not ask who these people are. If you do not agree to this, you will speak to nobody of us. Understand?” The teen nodded, still looking a bit befuddled. “Good. Now what is your answer?”

The teen hesitated and glanced over his shoulder at something.

“I… guess we can take him in,” he said slowly. Ulanov nodded.

“Very well then. I’ll be off now.” With that, he strode briskly back towards the stairs. Camus watched him leave.

“Well then…” The teen turned to Camus. “I guess we should get inside, then.” He stepped aside to let Camus in, then carried one bag in at a time.

Camus looked around the small apartment. A beat up old couch sat across from a 26 inch TV. A Legend of Zelda game was paused. Wooden blocks were strewn across the floor. The kitchen was miniscule; it had barely any counter space at all. The kitchen table was cluttered with books and papers. A hallway behind it led to a bedroom.

“There we go.” The teen set the second bag down. “Now then. I’m Reiji. What’s your name?”

“Camus.”

“Well, nice to meet you Myu-chan,” Reiji said, sticking out one hand. Camus just stared at him. Reiji slowly withdrew his hand and scratched his head. “So, uh, we don’t exactly have a spare bed at the moment. So you’ll have to sleep on the couch, just for a bit.”

“Where’s the adults here?” Camus asked. “Shouldn’t they decide that?” Reiji blinked. He shook his head.

“There’s no adults here.” He shrugged. “It’s just me.” Footsteps came from the hall. Reiji half-smiled. “Well, and these two.”

Camus turned around. Two children were staring at him; one was older than him, the other was younger. The elder had fluffy, silver hair and was staring hardly at him with mismatched eyes - one gray, one violet. The younger was hiding behind him. His light blue hair was done up in a half ponytail. He cautiously peeked at Camus, holding tightly onto his older brother’s black t-shirt.

“This is Ranmaru, and this is Ai,” Reiji introduced, pointing to each of them in turn. “They’re my younger brothers, in a way. I’m taking care of them, anyways. RanRan, AiAi, this is Camus. He’s going to be staying here for a while.”

“Why is he?” Ranmaru asked bluntly. He was tense; one arm moved to shield Ai.

“Well, uh…” Reiji let out a forced laugh. “That’s a bit hard to explain, considering that I don’t fully understand it either.”

“Then why are you letting him stay?” Ran’s voice was lowering into a growl. “We can’t trust him.”

“RanRan, it’s fine,” Reiji reassured. “There’s no need to be so hostile-”

“We can’t trust him,” Ran repeated. He glared at Camus. Camus returned the glare. “He needs to leave.”

“Ranmaru. He doesn’t have any place to go.”

“I don-”

“Silence, peasant,” Camus cut in. “You have no right to talk to me like that.”

“I talk how I want,” Ranmaru snarled. He stalked forward. “You can’t tell me what to do.”  
“Well, I am anyways.”

“Shut up.”

“ _You_ shut up.”

“ _You_ -”

“Okay, that’s enough,” Reiji interrupted. He stepped in between the two. “It’s late. We’re all hungry and tired. How about we just eat dinner and go to bed, okay?”

Ranmaru snorted and stomped toward the table. He roughly pulled out a chair and flopped down, folding his arms and slouching. Ai followed and knelt on the seat next to him. Camus took the seat across from Ran, and continued staring icily at him. Reiji brought a bowl of spaghetti to the table. He put two forks in it, then went to grab the plates. He set one for each of them, along with a knife, fork, and cup. He took the remaining seat. The room was filled with an uncomfortable silence as everyone picked at their food.

After they had finished, Reiji herded Ai and Ranmaru to the bedroom. While Reiji helped Ai get ready for bed, Camus sat alone in the kitchen, gripping the edge of the table. Things had definitely not gone to plan. If someone had told him yesterday that, twenty-four hours from then, he would be sitting at a messy kitchen table in a small apartment in the middle of Japan, he would have scoffed at them. His fingernails dug into the scratched wood. He was good as alone. He knew nobody, he had only recently gotten a grasp on the language, and he was not wanted. There were very few ways for his situation to get worse.

Reiji quietly walked into the kitchen, holding a brown fuzzy blanket. He set it on the couch and smiled at Camus.

“I’m heading to be now, but you come get me if you need anything, okay?” he said. “I’ll be on the mattress closest to the door. Good night, and sleep well.” Quietly stepping towards the TV, he turned both it and the console off. He headed back to the bedroom and turned out the light, making the hallway dark and unwelcoming. Only the kitchen light was still on.

Camus slid off his chair and went over to his suitcases. Tipping one over, he unzipped it and looked inside. This one had all his books. He closed it back up and opened the other one. He took out a set of soft, silky pajamas and changed into them, leaving the clothes he had been wearing on top of the suitcase in a small pile. Switching the kitchen light off, he tip-toed towards the couch.

The blanket felt coarser than it appeared as he unfolded it. He snuggled into the couch, facing the wall. The TV’s on light shone a dull red. It was the only light left on in the apartment. Outside, Camus could hear the occasional sound of a car rushing by.

That peasant had been right about one thing, in a way. He didn’t know them. He couldn’t trust them. The only person he knew right now that he could completely depend on was himself. He curled up tighter into himself.

That night was both the first and last night that he would ever cry himself to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To those who expected more fluff this chapter
> 
> I regret nothing :3c


	5. Cat in a Box

Ai followed Ranmaru home. He held his older brother’s hand loosely as he looked around the street curiously. He counted the colors of the cars that went by. So far he had counted three red ones, ten blue ones, twelve white ones, and one very bright yellow one. Each step was timed carefully, avoiding the cracks in the sidewalk. Ai knew that cracks were only supposed to break your mother’s back, but one couldn’t be too careful. The rhyme didn’t state what would happen if you _didn’t_ have a mother and stepped on a crack. It could transfer over to Reiji. Then Reiji wouldn’t be able to tell him bedtime stories, or make cookies, or snuggle, or play with puzzles, or anything else fun.

Ai kept walking forward until he realized that he was now in front of Ranmaru. That wasn’t quite right. Ai tugged on Ranmaru’s hand, to no avail. Ai frowned. If they didn’t hurry up, then they would get home later than usual. Then he wouldn’t have as much time to try to build his blocks to the ceiling.

“Ranmaru, it’s time to go home.” He continued tugging on his brother’s hand. “We need to go home now.” He looked back.

Ranmaru was staring at a cardboard box. Ai walked beside him and peered inside. In the box was a small, fluffy kitten. Its grayish fur was ruffled and scruffy. It looked up at Ai and mewed. Ai reached into the box to pet the kitten. It shied away for a moment, but then hesitantly touched its head to Ai’s hand. It started to purr as Ai patted its ears.

Ai looked up at Ranmaru. Ran was staring at the kitten intensely. After a moment, he slowly leaned forward and carefully picked up the kitten with both hands. The kitten mewed as it was taken outside of the box. Ran gently cradled the kitten and began to walk away. Ai scurried quickly after him.

“Ranmaru.” Ai struggled to keep up. “Ranmaru, wait for me.” Ran slowed his pace a bit, but kept walking. Ai looked at the kitten. “What are you going to do with him?”  
  
“Take it home,” Ranmaru replied bluntly. Ai tilted his head.

“But Reiji said that we can’t have a kitty. He said that they cost too much money to take care of.”

“I know. That’s why we’re not telling him.” Ai’s eyes widened.

“You’re going to _lie_ to Reiji? Why?”

“It’s not _lying_. It’s… just not telling him.” Ran looked away from Ai. “It’s different.”

“How?”

“I don’t know. It… it’s just different.”

Ai pondered this. He was still silent when they finally reached home. Ranmaru unlocked the door and let Ai inside before closing and locking the door behind him. Camus was sitting on the couch, reading a book. He glanced up at Ran, saw the cat, went back to his book, then looked up quickly again. He opened his mouth, closed it again, and gestured towards the cat in vague confusion.

“Don’t ask,” Ran muttered. He quickly walked towards the hallway. “And don’t tell Reiji.”

Camus shook his head and went back to reading. Ai followed Ran to the hallway closet. Ranmaru reached up and took a gray shoebox from a shelf. He took the beat up green and white sneakers out of the box and hid them in a corner of the closet.

“Hey, Ai,” he said, turning to his little brother, “can you go see if there’s any old towels or something around?” Ai nodded and scurried off to the kitchen.

Ran stroked the kitten’s ears gently. It mewed and snuggled its head against his stomach. He smiled softly.

Ai soon returned with an old blue towel. It was ragged in some areas, but still overall soft. Ran carefully laid the towel in the bottom of the box, then set the kitten in.

“We’ll hide him in the closet when Reiji’s here,” he said. Ai climbed up onto his back and peered over Ranmaru’s shoulder at the kitten.

“What’s his name?”

Ran thought for a minute.

“I don’t know. Do you wanna choose?”

Ai nodded.

“His name is Sora.”

“...Sora? You sure about that?”

“His name is Sora.”

Ran shook his head.

“Alright. Sora it is, then.”

 

Reiji exhaled slowly as he closed the door behind him. Work that day had been quite the experience. New stock, troublesome customers, missing co workers… It seemed that everything that could make his day harder had happened. But finally, he was home. He was home with his family.

Camus looked up from his book briefly and nodded at him. Same as usual. If things kept going to routine…

Reiji grinned as he saw Ai pattering towards him. The little boy jumped into Reiji’s waiting arms and clung on tight.

“It’s five zero four,” Ai mumbled into Reiji’s shirt. “You’re supposed to be here when it’s five.” Reiji chuckled.

“So I’m four minutes late?” he asked. Ai nodded. “Sorry about that. Are you mad at me?” Ai shook his head and tightened his grip further. “That’s good. What do you want for dinner?”

“Jello.”

“I see, I see. Well, that’s a bit too sweet to eat for dinner. What else do you want?”

“Jello.”

“I know you want jello, AiAi, but we can’t have that today, okay? How about something else?”

“Jello.”

Reiji sighed. He wasn’t going to get a different answer out of Ai when he was in this kind of stubborn mood.

Ran came down the hall, yawning and scratching the back of his head. He glanced at Reiji before heading to the fridge.

“RanRan, what do you want for dinner?” Reiji asked. Ranmaru reached inside the fridge and held up a plastic bowl. “Leftovers? Alrighty, then. Could you heat ‘em up while I get changed?” Ran nodded and began taking more plastic containers out of the fridge.

Reiji set Ai down and went towards the bedroom. Ai trotted after him, reaching up to grip onto his older brother’s hand. Walking into the bedroom, Reiji closed the door after them, while Ai clambered onto his bed to hold Piyo-chan, who had been sitting on top of his pillow.

“So, anything fun happen today?” Reiji asked as he unbuttoned his shirt. He pulled it off and picked up a rumpled orange t-shirt from a pile at the foot of his bed. Ai nodded as he played with Piyo-chan’s arms.

“I saw a kitten with Ranmaru when we were coming home from school,” he murmured. He was nearly completely focused on making his little chick dance on his lap. “It was cute.”

“Was it a nice kitty?”

“Uh-huh.” Ai flopped back onto his bed and lifted Piyo-chan into the air. “It liked me petting its ears.”

“That’s good.” Reiji tossed his work clothes on a small pile by the door. “Let’s go eat, okay?”

“Can Piyo-chan have dinner with us today?”  
  
“He needs to have his own dinner, remember? And he can’t have that until we go eat dinner ourselves.”

“Okay.”

Ai sat up and slid off the mattress and carefully put Piyo-chan back in place. He tucked the chick in and patted its head, then followed Reiji back towards the kitchen.

  


Ranmaru carefully fed Sora a small piece of meat. The kitten licked it out of his hand and looked up at him. It mewed. He laughed slightly and tore off another piece. So far, they’d been able to hide Sora from Reiji for almost two weeks.

Ran stroked Sora's back. The kitten’s fur was starting to grow out more evenly, and he chased more vigorously after the string that Ai would dangle in front of him. Sora twisted around and nibbled at Ranmaru’s fingers. Ran withdrew his hand and gave Sora the last piece of the meat.

A knock came from the front door. Ranmaru quickly put Sora back into the shoebox and pushed it back into the closet. He shut the door and went to see who had come to visit.

Opening the door slightly, he looked outside. An older woman was standing there in a neatly pressed blue dress. Her short black hair was streaked with silver. She held a covered plate with both hands. Ran opened the door fully. The lady smiled warmly at him.

“Hello, Ranmaru,” she greeted. “How are you today?”

“I’m good,” he replied, staring at the plate. “What’s that?”

“I made some cookies, and I thought I’d bring some over.”

“Can I have some cookies, baachan?” A small voice piped up from behind Ranmaru. Ai peeked at the lady from around Ran’s arm. “I’d like some cookies, please.” She chuckled.

“Of course you can, Ai.”

Ranmaru stepped aside to let her in. She took her brown loafers off at the door and walked into the apartment. Ai trailed after her as she headed towards the kitchen table and set the plate down on it. Camus looked up from where he sat on the edge of the couch and put his book down. Ai helped the lady take the tin foil off of the plate. The warm scent of sugar and chocolate spread throughout the apartment.

Ai snatched a cookie and held it with both hands, carefully nibbling the edge of it. Ran started to head toward the table as well, but Camus pushed him aside as he rushed toward the sweets. Camus took a cookie in each hand. Ranmaru glared at him as he walked past to get his own cookies. Staring at his rival, Ran deliberately took two cookies in each hand. Camus narrowed his eyes at Ranmaru.

“Now, now, boys, there’s plenty of cookies,” the woman gently rebuked. “There's no need to rush. Make sure you save some for Reiji, too.”

“Save what for me?”

They turned toward the door. Reiji was there, pulling his shoes off.

“It’s kind of worrying to come home to the door wide open, you know,” he said. Ai ran toward him and glomped onto his leg. Reiji patted his little brother’s head before awkwardly walking forward, his left foot weighed down by a small child. “It’s nice to see you, Tada-san. Are those cookies I smell~?”

“They are indeed. I was baking this morning, and I had some extras. I thought I’d bring them over to share.” Reiji grinned.

“Thanks, Tada-san.” He took a cookie and gently nudged Ai off his leg. He walked towards the hall. “Excuse me for a bit, I’m going to grab something real quick. One of my shoes has a really big hole in it, so I’ll need my old pair.” He laughed. “That’ll be interesting. I wonder if they still fit? I wouldn’t be surprised if they did, to be honest. I only stopped wearing them because Boss-chan had a problem with how green they were.”

Ranmaru nearly choked on his cookie. He sat there in terror as he heard Reiji open the closet door.

“Oh? What’s this?”

Reiji came back down the hall, Sora curled up in his hands.

“I found this little guy in my shoebox.” Reiji looked around the room, staring at each of the three boys in turn. None of them met his eyes. “How did he get here?”

The room was filled with an uncomfortable silence. The clock ticked on for a few minutes as Reiji waited for a response. Finally, Ranmaru spoke.

“...I found him in a box,” he muttered, looking down at his feet. “He looked really hungry, and no one else was around. So I brought him home.” He glanced up at Reiji, his head still hanging low. “...am I in trouble?” Reiji sighed and shook his head.

“No, you aren’t,” he said. “But you know why we can’t have a pet. We’ll have to take him to a shelter.”

Ai began to whine. Tears began to fill his cerulean eyes.

“Why can’t we keep Sora?” he asked. “I want Sora to stay here. Can’t he stay?”

Shifting the kitten to one hand, Reiji crouched down in front of Ai and patted his head.

“I’m sorry, AiAi,” he whispered. “A pet takes a lot of work and money. I trust that you guys would take good care of Sora, but we just can’t afford to right now.” Ai started to sob. Reiji gave him a one armed hug, squeezing the small boy close to him.

“Excuse me,” Tada spoke up. “I could take in the kitten, if that would be acceptable? It often gets lonely in my apartment, so it would be nice to have some company.” She held out her hands. “May I see him?”

Reiji stood up and carefully handed the kitten to Tada. She took the kitten in one hand and stroked its back.

“Well, you’re a handsome little man, aren’t you?” she murmured. Sora mewed in response. Tada chuckled. “And it seems like you know it quite well. Don’t worry. I’ll give you a good home.”

Ai tugged on her skirt.

“Can me and Ranmaru come play with Sora sometimes?” he asked. His eyes were wide and still shimmering with tears.

“Of course you can, Ai,” Tada reassured, patting his head. “You’re welcome to come visit us any time.”

“Thank you, baachan!” Ai exclaimed. He smiled brightly. Tada smiled gently in return.

“Well, it’s time for our dinner, so we’d best be along. Isn’t that right, Sora?”

“ _Mew!_ ”

Tada headed back towards the door. She slipped her shoes back on, nodded in farewell, and left. Reiji patted Ai’s head.

“Well, that ended well, didn’t it?” He turned towards the kitchen. “Time for us to eat too. I think some tuna fish sandwiches would be good tonight, don’t you think?”

“We can’t.”

Reiji looked at Ranmaru quizzically.

“Why can’t we, RanRan?

Ran looked away sheepishly.

“...I fed the tuna to Sora. We don’t have any left.”

Reiji sighed and scratched the back of his head.

“Well, I guess it’s peanut butter sandwiches for us, then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tada's one of the few people who knows about the actual situation. She helped Reiji get Ran and Ai in school, so she's fairly close to them.  
> Also some fluff for after what happened last chapter.  
> (and yes, Reiji calls his boss "Boss-chan". To her face as well. She doesn't really like that >w>)


End file.
